


And listen to the thunder

by starsandnightskies



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Elysium AU, Gemma gets seriously ill, Harry has some serious bad luck, Louis is rich and in love, M/M, dystopian au, everything gets explained in the first few paragraphs, futuristic AU, harry and louis get separated sorry, harry is the sweetest lil bro, more Larry to follow, sorry Gemma ily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-05 04:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4166250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsandnightskies/pseuds/starsandnightskies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>2063, the world is overpopulated and the rich and wealthy have built a space habitat for them to live on - Elysium. Louis and Harry try to find their way through many difficulties together but will their love survive?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Louis are in love, Harry gets hurt and Louis just wants to be with him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not spell-checked. I'm pretty stoked about this. It's gonna have three parts and maybe a happy ending. If I'm up for it ;) Title from Thunder by Boys Like Girls and this fic is of course based on the film Elysium. I thought the film had potential but wasn't done justice. So I wrote my own idea around it.
> 
> Enjoy reading!

In 2050, the world population reached a number of 9.6 billion inhabitants. By 2060, it had increased to 11 billion. The numbers were still rising and the world was overpopulated. Water resources were running out, drought had stricken across the globe, food was scarce and robots handled the day to day law enforcement. Jobs were hard to get and proper housing was a rare phenomenon. Almost everyone lived in shacks, thrown together from old bricks, wooden boards and, if they were lucky, an isolated roof. New technological inventions were no longer a worldwide hype - every single person was busy with surviving and trying to supply for their families.

Almost every single person. The rich and wealthy of planet Earth felt like they deserved more, as they had done for centuries before. And so, with their money and some of the smartest scientists and builders combined, they started building their own little paradise because Earth no longer could supply everything for their ever-increasing demands. And where exactly was their little paradise, you might wonder? In space.

In the year 2055, the rich and wealthy of planet Earth began building a massive space habitat that could house thousands of people. It was never supposed to be a space ship - it just had to launched and then it would be usable for close to forever. It would use the Earth's orbit and with artificial gravity and an arfitical ozon layer, it would be perfectly habitable for humans. In 2062, the giant spinning wheel was launched and the experiment had succeeded - the first space shuttles with Elysium's new inhabitants on it left a week after the launch to start up their little community.

Two months later, several more space shuttles left to Elysium. Some rich and wealthy people worked on Earth and lived on Elysium. As if that wasn't yet selfish enough, Elysium was only accessible by shuttles. Of course, people found a way around that soon enough. They built their own space shuttles with the blue prints someone clever stole from the company that produced the original shuttles. Several shuttles reached Elyisum and once they set foot on Elysium, they could not be sent back to Earth. That was the one humane rule Elysium had concerning the people on Earth.

Naturally, reaching Elysium became harder. Citizens of the space habitat got special numbers tattooed on their arms in invisible ink. When setting foot on Elysium, robots scanned your arm. Were they unable to find such a number, you were sent back to Earth before you could say 'unfair'. Of course, people caught on to this as well and began copying the numbers on their arms before they flew to Elysium.

So the people on Earth were punished - all the Med-Bays in the hospitals on Earth were moved to Elysium. Med-Bays were the greatest invention ever made. They could heal every broken bone, remove every scar, heal every single illness that existed. The only thing they could not do was stop the aging process, but with a Med-Bay in your possession, you were almost immortal either way. Apart from a few rich and wealthy geniuses who had helped produce the Med-Bays, no one knew the exact science behind it. But everyone on Earth did know that if you were severely ill, having access to a Med-Bay would be the solution.

Harry Styles turned twenty-one in the year 2063. It wasn't a very good year. First, he lost his long-term boyfriend. Second, his sister became severely ill. And third? There was nothing he could do about either of them.

2063 had seemed so promising when the new year had started. He'd turn twenty-one, the legal age to apply for a job at the factory and he and Louis would finally be able to get married. For living on planet Earth in the second half of the twenty-first century, this wasn't bad. He could've done a lot worse. Instead of a shack, he and his mum and sister owned a tiny house with one bedroom and a sofa-turned-bed. They had a teeny kitchen with running water and food wasn't awfully hard to come by where they lived.

Gemma and Anne, his sister and mum, both had jobs at the local hospital, which earned them a decent wage. They were far from rich, but Harry had everything he needed growing up.

When he was five years old and still in school, he met Louis for the first time. Louis Tomlinson had everything his heart desired. His stepdad was rich, very rich, and took good care of him, his mum and his sisters. They lived in a giant mansion outside the city with enough spare rooms to house a dozen families. Their garden could house another twenty families. Harry and Louis got along right from the start. They grew up together, despite the difference in family backgrounds and when Harry turned sixteen, Louis professed his love for Harry. They went on their first date only hours later. When he looks back now, Harry knows it never could've lasted.

For years, they were happy together. When Louis turned twenty-one, he got a job at the factory his stepdad owned but it wasn't the kind of job Harry would ever be able to get. Louis became partial owner and started earning his own money. Harry refused to accept any kind of gift from Louis. Louis tried to give him money but Harry never accepted it. Their first fight was bound to happen soon after that. For Harry's nineteenth birthday, a little over a month after Louis's twenty-first, Louis gave him a key. Originally, Harry thought it was for a house. He thought back to their first fight that day.

_"What's this for?"_

_"Happy birthday, love", Louis smiled. "Do you like it?"_

_"What's the key for?" Harry asked again._

_"It gives you access to one of the vaults in our house. I put part of my salary in it every month for you, Gems and Anne."_

_"You keep a savings account for us? Why? Don't you think we would be able to take care of ourselves?"_

_"Harry-"_

_"No, Louis, we don't need your help. We can get by on our own just fine! I'm not some charity case! I thought the differences between us didn't matter?" Harry was yelling now._

_"They don't, H, you know that." Louis didn't yell. He seemed like his normal, calm self but Harry could see in his eyes that the fight affected him just as much._

_"They clearly do matter, Louis. I don't want your charity. Keep that stupid key!" Harry threw the key at his boyfriend as hard as he could. The moment the key left his hand, he regretted it already. It hit Louis in the chest but he didn't make a sound, didn't even flinch. With a heavy heart and tears in his eyes, Harry turned on his heels and left the giant house._

_He hadn't meant to scream so loud or to get so angry but it bothered him to no end that Louis would think they needed extra money. They were fine. Gemma and Anne had jobs, they could afford running water and food... They didn't need charity._

_"Hey bean, why are you back so early?" Gemma asked when Harry opened the front door of their tiny house. "I thought you'd stay over tonight?"_

_"Not now, Gemma", Harry mumbled and for the first time in his life, he wished he had his own room to hide in for the rest of the week. For the rest of the year, even._

_"Hey, talk to me. What did Louis do?" Before she knew it, Gemma had a crying younger brother on her shoulder. "Wow, okay, I haven't seen you this upset since that time you lost dad's compass. Do I need to beat him up?"_

_"No, don't do that. You might end up in jail", Harry sniffled. "I don't want to talk about it. Can we just eat that chocolate cake mum bought me?"_

_"Sure." Gemma didn't push the subject, although she was curious to know what it was Louis did to make her little brother so upset. They ate the cake slowly, treasuring every bite. They rarely had things like cake. It was madly expensive and had barely any nutritional value but it was a tradition in the Styles house to buy a cake whenever it was someone's birthday. They left a slice for Anne for when she came home from work._

Harry remembered that day like it was yesterday. He and Louis rarely fought but from the start, he had worried that Louis might see him as a poor kid that only wanted him for his money. From the moment they met, Harry was always trying to convince Louis that they were friends because he _liked_ Louis. Not because his stepdad was rich. It made him uncomfortable when Louis gave him his favourite toys when they were just kids. What if someone stole them? What if Louis only gave them to him because he thought Anne couldn't afford toys for her son?

Later, it wasn't just about toys. It was about so much more than that. Louis always said the differences between them didn't matter, but Harry knew it did. When Louis's youngest sisters were toddlers, babysitting them was something they enjoyed doing together. Jay, Louis's mum, offered to pay Harry for it - after all, he did spend his free time looking after Daisy and Phoebe so Jay could have some relaxation time for two days every week. When he refused to accept the money, Jay made little baskets with fruit, another scarce product, to take home with him. Gemma and Anne loved fruit and seeing his mum and sister happy and healthy made it easier for Harry to accept such tokens of kindness.

When he and Louis first spoke after the fight on Harry's birthday, both of them pretended nothing happened. They moved past the incident, were more careful around certain subjects. Harry was sure Louis kept the money in the account aside, just in case. They never spoke of it again.

When Harry woke up on the morning of his twenty-first birthday, the sun was shining and he could hear Gemma and Anne whispering in the kitchen. He got up and turned his bed back into a sofa and washed his face in the sink.

"He's up!" Gemma smiled when she saw him. "Bit sleepy but he's awake, mum. Go on, give it to him! I want to see his face when he unwraps it!"

"Unwrap what? You didn't actually buy me anything, right?" Anne and Gemma shared a look. "You did." Harry saw the cake on the kitchen counter and it wasn't wrapped so they must've found him another present. "Mum, the cake alone would've been enough, honestly."

"Shush, it's your twenty-first. It's not every day your youngest turns twenty-one. Just unwrap it and please, use it. Don't want to have us spending money for nothing, do you?" Anne handed him a wrapped box. It was pretty heavy and wrapped in some colourful paper. It looked like the kind of paper used to package bread (it was probably exactly that) but Harry was touched. They went out of their way to find him a gift and to wrap it nicely.

"Go on, open it!" Gemma said excited.

So he unwrapped the present. The box was a box used to package bread but the contents were much heavier than bread and he opened the box. It was a new pair of shoes. Brand new shoes, with steel noses and strong laces. Harry was pretty sure he was catching flies. "New shoes? Mum, this must've cost you a fortune!"

"Not a word about the expenses", Anne warned. "It's your twenty-first and if you get a job at the factory, you need a pair of good working shoes. The guy who sold them assured us these were the best type of shoes for the work at the factory."

"You're both insane", Harry said but he was touched. He might even have shed a tear or two but if you were to ask him, he would definitely deny it. He hugged them both tightly and vowed to give them everything they deserved and so much more. As soon as he got a job.

His second birthday present that day was from Louis. He'd asked Harry to come over when he could so after breakfast, Harry had put on his new shoes and walked all the way to Louis's house. Louis knew Harry wouldn't want anything expensive and to be quite honest, he had no desire to have a fight like Harry's nineteenth again. So he had bought Harry a year's worth of biscuits to share with Anne and Gemma. They all loved biscuits but could barely afford them.

"Thank you, Lou. Feel free to stop by later today to eat a few with us", Harry told his boyfriend.

"I think I just might. D'you mind if I bring the twins? They got you a present as well, you know how much they love you", Louis smiled. "Don't worry, it's nothing expensive."

"Yeah, sure! I bet mum and Gems will be so glad to see them again. They work till 5 today. 'S that work for you?"

"It does", Louis confirmed. He pulled Harry closer to him and pressed their foreheads together. "Happy birthday, babe. I love you."

"I love you too", Harry said quietly and they shared a quick kiss before the younger of the two pulled back regretfully. "I've got to get to the factory. We need all the money we can earn, especially now I'm twenty-one. See you tonight, love."

"See you tonight. I'm sure you'll get the job", Louis smiled. "You've got the right shoes for it."

Harry stuck out his tongue in a very non-adult way and laughed. "I'm sure they'll just hire me for my shoes."

"They might", Louis said seriously. "Shoes are a very important part of the job when you've got to walk around and work with heavy machinery all day."

"Bye Louis", Harry laughed and he left the house in a good mood. Louis never failed to make him feel better, whether it be about getting a job or about himself as a person. The walk to the bus stop was a short one but when he was waiting in line for the bus to come, the law enforcement robots were pulling people out of line for 'random checks'. By now, Harry knew they weren't very random - people who had previously been in jail were more often than not pulled out of line and searched thoroughly. The robots passed him without a second glance, but a young woman two people down the line was pulled aside and her bag emptied on the street. Harry wondered what she'd done to end up in jail.

"I turned my life around!" she yelled at the robots. "Just leave me be and search someone who has actually done something wrong!"

No one stepped out of line to help her get her things together. No one wanted to be the next person to be searched. Harry sent her a regretful look and wished he could help her without immediately standing out to the robots. As a small act of resistance, he let her back in line before him.

"Thanks", she said quietly. "I probably would've missed the bus to work otherwise."

"That's okay", Harry said and that was the end of the conversation. The bus arrived and everyone got on until the bus was full. Everyone not seated yet had to leave the bus and wait for the next one, which would come in 30 minutes. A lot of people complained about getting late for work but Harry was already glad there even was a bus at all. If he had to walk all the day to the factory, his feet would burn already before he got there.

There was another line outside the factory when Harry got off the bus. People were waiting to go in and get a medical check to determine if they were fit and healthy enough for a job. Some people were dragged out of the building screaming, others quietly made their way back to the bus stop with a frown on their faces. People who did get a job didn't come out of the building again - they were put to work immediately. The factory manufactured parts of the robots used as law enforcement. They also fixed broken ones. It was a pretty good business and people who worked there got a decent wage so Harry really wanted to get in. An extra income wouldn't do them any harm. It would give Harry the opportunity to set some money aside, in case they would ever need it.

When he was finally ushered inside, two hours later, it didn't take long to get a medical check. As it turned out, his lungs and eyes were fine. Which meant he got a job. He smiled widely as he thanked the woman doing the medical examination. She smiled back at him and waved him on through the doors. Later, he realized it was the girl from the bus stop. Did she approve him for his medical checks because he let her stand in line before him? He would never know but he sent her a mental thank you.

In a world like this one, kindness was everything. It cost you nothing and you might even get repaid for it, so Harry found.

"Hey bean, I take it you got a job?" Gemma smiled when he entered their home. "How did your first day go?"

"Fine. I'm tired as hell and everything aches but I have a job and it gets us money so I'll get used to it", Harry whispered, trying not to wake Anne. Which turned out to be in vain, as Anne was still up as well. Of course she wouldn't miss her son coming back from his first day at work.

When he went to bed that night, dead on his feet but satisfied, for once he didn't look up at the sky where the giant spinning wheel of Elysium was visible and wished he was there. Maybe he'd find peace in this life on Earth after all.

Getting up in the morning with a job to go to was both easier and harder. Easier because he had a purpose in life - earning money for their family. Harder because the job exhausted him and made him want to stay in bed every morning. He knew he couldn't, but for a few moments every morning when the sun rose, it was so very tempting. A downside to it was that he rarely saw Louis anymore. On the weekends, more often than not, he ended up working overdue for more money. Anne and Gemma told him there was no need to overdo it (money wasn't exactly tight for them at the moment) but Harry felt like he had something to prove. Maybe to himself, but maybe something to Louis as well.

"Babe, you're exhausted", was the first thing Louis said when Harry had finally taken a free Saturday to spend with his boyfriend. "Come on, in you get." He patted the bed next to him and Harry, too tired to protest, kicked off his shoes, crawled under the covers and fell into a deep sleep straight away. Louis looked at him sadly. He knew his boyfriend was pushing himself too hard but commenting on it would only result in a fight, and a fight was the last thing Louis and Harry both needed at the moment.

Louis, aside from worrying about Harry, had other things troubling him. His stepdad had told them several days ago that he intended to take them all to Elysium. Earth, as he had put it, wasn't safe for 'their kind' anymore. Whatever that meant. Louis didn't feel like he was a different 'kind' than Harry. They were soul mates, in Louis's humble opinion - destined to be together in more than just one lifetime. Just because they were rich and could afford most things didn't make them a different, or superiour, kind of human.

It angered Louis, the way his stepdad saw poor people. When Harry and Louis first started dating, his stepdad hadn't approved. He introduced Louis to a dozen boys and girls alike, all the same. They had rich parents, were spoiled brats who saw themselves as superiour, and were generally awful human beings to be around. It took Louis's stepdad months to get accustomed to seeing Harry around but once he took the time to get to know his stepson's boyfriend, Harry didn't seem all that bad. He had manners, wasn't uncivilized like he'd originally thought.

And now, Louis thought bitterly, he was about to rip them apart.

He smiled down sadly at his sleeping boyfriend, blissfully unaware of the concerns Louis had. He couldn't bear the thought of being apart from Harry, most likely forever. People like Harry, Anne and Gemma, no matter how lovely they were, were never meant to set foot on Elysium. Louis knew that. But it was still hard to accept.

He let Harry sleep beside him while he took out a notebook and a pen and started writing a letter to his boyfriend. If it was up to him, he'd never need it but he wasn't so sure about it. Before Harry woke up, Louis had erased every trace of the letter and was instead reading a book.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty. Sleep well?" Louis teased when Harry opened his eyes drowsily. It took him a few minutes to focus before he smiled up at his boyfriend sleepily.

"Very well. Best nap I've had in months."

"I wouldn't exactly call it a nap - you've been out for five hours", Louis laughed.

"Five hours? No way. Kiss?"

"I don't think so. Morning breath and all that. Brush your teeth first, I'm sure we've got a spare toothbrush somewhere in the bathroom." Harry pouted but Louis wasn't swayed so easily. He did make it up to him when he got back from brushing his teeth though. They snogged away the rest of the day, maybe one or two orgasms mixed in somewhere, and had a shower before Jay called them down for dinner.

"I'm glad I took the day off to spend with you", Harry said after dinner, when they were back in Louis's room and laying on the bed, Louis's head resting on Harry's chest with their hands intertwined.

"Me too. You needed some rest. You've been working so hard the past few months", Louis said. A silence fell and Louis wondered if this was the right moment to tell Harry that he might be moving to Elysium. Would there ever be a right moment? How did one tell their boyfriend they might be moving to a spinning space habitat without a chance of them ever returning?

Louis knew his sisters wouldn't go without him going and he couldn't leave his sisters here on Earth. They weren't safe here. More than once, desperate people had attempted to harm them because they weren't given a job at his stepdad's factory. They thought that by harming or kidnapping the girls, they might get money in return. Of course, that wouldn't happen but Louis could understand their desperation. They had families, mouths to feed and little kids to house. With no job, they were practically sentenced to death.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Harry said softly when he saw the absent look in Louis's eyes.

"It's nothing, just thinking", Louis answered when he was jostled back to reality.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. Want a ride home? Anne and Gemma should get back from work soon."

"That would be great, thanks babe. Should save my legs for work tomorrow." They got up slowly, putting on shoes and coats. Harry thanked Jay for dinner and waved at the twins, who were pretty sad he was leaving already.

"I'll see you soon, alright?" He patted Daisy on the head and kissed Phoebe's forehead.

"It's got to be real soon", Daisy demanded.

Harry laughed. "Why's that, darling?" Louis tried to shut the twins up with a stern look, but he should've known it wouldn't work.

"'Cause mummy and Phoebe and daddy and Lottie and Fizzy and Louis and me are leaving very soon", she declared.

"Where to? Another trip to Italy?" Harry asked, shooting Louis a sideways glance.

Phoebe giggled. "Of course not, silly. To Elysium! Daddy's taking us there and he's already bought a really nice house!"

Harry's face fell and an unfamiliar expression replaced the smile he'd had earlier. "Lou?"

"I'm afraid it's true. I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you but I didn't know how", Louis said but he knew as soon as he saw the tears in Harry's eyes. He'd accepted it already. "I'm trying to get dad to let me stay here, to run the business."

"No, you should go", Harry whispered, finally turning to meet Louis's eyes. "Don't leave your sisters."

"I'll be back here often for business", Louis tried but it was no use.

"I'll walk home. Bye Daisy and Phoebe. See you real soon." One last pointed look at Louis and he left the house.

Louis was leaving to Elysium. Harry knew he'd never see him again and it was hopeless, having a long distance relationship with next to no ways to communicate. Phones didn't work in space and Harry's family didn't have enough money to pay for the expensive technology needed to communicate with Elysium. So he'd need to forget about Louis. That was the only way this was going to work. Thinking about him constantly wouldn't ease the pain one bit. Harry went straight to bed when he got home. Anne and Gemma were asleep already - they had to get up early.

Not thinking about Louis sounded easier than it really was. At work, Harry barely had any distractions from his thoughts. It was a routine job, with barely any interaction with his co-workers. At night, he often looked up at Elysium, clearly visible in the dark night sky, and wondered what it was like up there. Was Louis there already? Did they have a nice house? Enough food? Fresh water? Maybe even a Med-Bay? Not that they'd need it - people on Elysium were scanned by a Med-Bay the moment they arrived to make sure they were healthy when starting their new lives and they rarely got ill.

As it turned out, Louis hadn't left yet. One night, a few weeks after Harry got the news, he was standing at the door when he got home from work. All he did was hand him an envelope, a fancy one that had no place in today's world but it was so very Louis. "I'm leaving tomorrow. The girls will miss you." And what about you? Harry wanted to ask. Will you miss me?

Louis turned on his heels with a pained expression and started walking away. He hadn't come by shuttle, from which Harry concluded he'd walked all the way to their house. "Louis, wait." He turned around and looked at Harry, face almost hopeful. Harry studied his face one last time. How did he ever get so lucky? He took in the sight of Louis's gorgeous eyes, now sad, tried to memorize every single freckle and burned the image of his face in his mind. "I love you." It came out as a whisper, but Louis heard it nonetheless.

"I love you too. Always will. And I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you." A thousand words stood between them, unspoken, unheard, but understood. And Louis left without looking back once.

The next day, after work, Harry heard a shuttle coming over and even without looking, he knew it was the Tomlinson family. He wished them the best on Elysium and shut the door behind him. The envelope Louis gave him was on the table in the kitchen. Undoubtedly, Gemma had put it there, telling Harry to look what was inside it. So he obeyed his sister and opened the envelope. A letter and a key were inside.

_Hello my love,_

_As I'm writing this, you're currently asleep next to me. You've been working too hard these last few months. I wanted to start by saying I love you. I do, I truly do. I know you laugh at me when I say we're soul mates, but I think we are. We've always understood each other on a deeper level, were closer than other teenage couples. We never needed a lot of words to understand each other. Remember back in the days when we used to babysit Lottie? We lost her in the house once and I was so frightened something had happened to her. You assured me she'd be fine. When we found her, she was just eating grapes in the kitchen and happily playing with her toy cat. Of course you'd been right. You're mostly right about these kind of things._

_Dad told me he wanted us to move to Elysium yesterday. I don't know how to tell you about it. We both know a long distance relationship won't work, especially without communication. We can understand each other without talking but I'm pretty sure that might be quite difficult with thousands of kilometres between us. I don't want to leave. Mum said the girls won't leave without me but I think she doesn't want to go either. Dad doesn't really care. He's bought us a place already and Lottie and Fizzy can get better education up there. Dais and Phoebs will be safer there as well._

_So I suppose this is a goodbye letter. I'm terrible at saying goodbye, sorry about that. I promise I'll think about you often and visit Earth for work as much as I can. Send my love to Anne and Gemma, yeah? They're both incredible and I really wish you could all come with me. I love you so much and I honestly hope the universe has more in store for us._

_All my love, Louis._

_P.S. The key is to that vault I opened for you when you turned nineteen. You might need it one day, please don't throw away the key. Give to Anne if you really don't want it, but please don't throw it away. I love you._

Harry was wiping away tears at the end of the letter but his heart was full of love. He hoped the Tomlinsons were safer up there, that Lottie and Fizzy would become smart, well-educated young women, that Daisy and Phoebe would find themselves new playmates, that Louis found his own happy place. He'd be fine down here. He would be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!
> 
> (and come say hi on [Tumblr](the-lonelymountain.tumblr.com))


	2. Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is gone, Gemma gets seriously ill and Harry tries to find a solution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, not spell-checked. Let's just pretend radiation poisoning is contagious for the sake of the story. The pain and the contagiousness can be suppressed with medication but the only treatment to prevent death by radiation poisoning is a Med-Bay. 
> 
> I also love Gemma.

2063 ended on a sad note. Louis had been gone for several months and no matter how hard Harry tried, he couldn't seem to get over him. He wasn't interested in dating other people and his life became a routine. He'd get up in the morning, eat breakfast, go to work, get home and eat dinner, and go to bed. He did little more with his life these days. Earning money and taking care of Anne and Gemma were his only goals. By now, he'd saved up quite a big amount of money but he hadn't done anything with it yet. All he'd done was take the key Louis had given him and put his own, hard-earned money in the vault Louis had set up for him. As it turned out, the vault was much more secured than just the key. Louis had installed an eye scanner and fingerprint scanner which only gave access to the vault with either Harry's correct scans or Louis's correct scans. Harry wondered for a moment how Louis got his eye and fingerprint scans before he remembered that Louis's stepdad had him fully scanned and checked before he allowed him in their house.

Louis had found it so embarassing at the time but at least it had been good for something. The vault filled up slowly (thanks to the money that was in there already because of Louis) and Harry hoped he'd never need to use the money for anything drastic. He'd rather let it sit there or use it to buy Anne and Gemma the biggest and nicest house he could find.

On the 25th of November, Gemma announced over dinner that she'd met a guy a while ago and that she was pregnant. Safe to say it was a pretty big bomb she'd dropped on Anne and Harry. They both demanded to meet the guy but Gemma stated he was out of the picture. Apparently he hadn't been the greatest bloke in the world and he'd had a girlfriend when he slept with Gemma, which she didn't know. Either way, she decided to keep the baby although Harry and Anne reassured her they would support her no matter what she decided. After all, it was Gemma's body and she was the only one to decide what she'd do with it. Harry knew his mum was secretly looking forward to becoming a grandma and if Louis had been here, he'd be spoiling Gemma rotten. Not to mention the baby when it was born.

But Louis wasn't here and life went on without him, no matter how strange it was to Harry. The day after she'd announced it, they all had a bit of a breakdown together. Anne because her daughter was having a baby and she was going to be a grandma, _oh my god_. Harry because his sister was having a baby and he was going to be an uncle, _holy shit_. And Gemma because she was having a baby and going to be a mom, _Jesus Christ_.

In the second-last week of December, when everyone was looking forward to celebrating a new year with new hopes and some champagne someone nicked from a wealthy mansion, something terrible happened. Harry had a bad feeling when he woke up that morning and saw Gemma throwing up in the toilet bowl. Morning sickness was apparently a really common thing in the Styles family. Anne'd had it with both her kids, her mom had had it with her kids, and so on. And now it was bothering Gemma as well.

Harry winched in sympathy for his older sister and rushed over to hold back her hair and rub her back.

"Jesus, I really hate this", she grumbled when she was done.

"I can understand that", Harry sighed. "Here, brush your teeth. You'll feel a little cleaner. What time does your shift start?"

"Thanks bean. And at eight, if I'm correct", Gemma replied, sticking her tootbrush in her mouth and pulling her hair in a neat bun. It was silent for a moment before she said "Hey bean, if the baby is born, will you be the godfather? I mean, I know you're the uncle already but-"

"That would be great, Gem." And he smiled at her in the mirror while wrapping his arms around her waist. When he put a hand on her stomach, there wasn't much to feel yet. Just a little extra pudge but no significant sign that there was a tiny person growing in there. It still amazed him, how women can grow a new, little human being in their bodies. Gemma leaned back into him with tired eyes but a content smile on her face.

"Look at my babies, all grown up", Anne said fondly when she saw the two of them like that.

"It's almost seven thirty, Gem, you should be going", Harry said.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks bean. See you tonight!" And with a kiss to his cheek, she was out the door in under ten seconds. Huh. So she could be fast if needed. Interesting discovery.

"Shouldn't you be going as well, darling?" Anne asked, putting together her bag for the day.

"Right. Thanks mum, see you tonight. Have a good day at work." He kissed her on the head before he rushed out the door as well. He was still on time for the early bus to work and as he got on, he spotted an empty seat next to Maggy, the girl he'd helped get to work in time earlier. They had sort of become friends after that incident, which really meant they saved each other a bus seat and sat together in mostly silence.

Outside of Louis and his own family, Harry hadn't really had much contact with other people. During the day, he hung out at Louis's place and played with the twins, or helped Lottie and Fizzy with their homework. He barely had any social contacts or friends to hang out with. Now that he had a job, he didn't really have much time for it either but still. It would've been nice to take a day off and have a good chat with a friend. His friends could be counted on one hand. Even less if he didn't count Maggy.

There was Liam, one of his many coworkers at the factory who worked even harder than Harry himself. Then there was Niall, who worked in the canteen (not that anyone spent their money buying expensive lunch there but it was a handy arrangement if you forgot your lunch) and occasionally slipped Harry and Liam some alcohol. Which was, of course, illegally brewn. The only legal alcohol these days was wine and that was way too expensive for everyone, so they made their own mind-numbingly strong drinks. And there was Maggy, who saved him a seat on the bus and occasionally talked to him about the stars.

 Today, however, she talked about the weather.

"Did you know it's supposed to snow at Christmas? People used to look forward to a white Christmas", she said.

"I've never seen actual snow in my life", Harry stated. "But as a kid, I used to have those books with pictures of snow men in it. It was my favourite. I always wished to be the kids in the pictures."

"Me too! And people say it will snow this Christmas. I don't believe them, though. It would be nice, sure, but global warming wouldn't allow it so I'm not getting my hopes up."

"Snow this Christmas would make it a perfect Christmas", Harry agreed. And that was their conversation for the day. Compared to other conversations they'd had, this had been a long one but that was fine. They were bus buddies, nothing more.

His shift got by as usual, he waved at Liam a few times when passing him to get a next load of iron to the melting machines and ate his lunch in Niall's company. They were talking about what they were going to do with a free day at Christmas when the overhead announcement system creaked and croaked to life.

"Odd", Niall said. "They've only used that thing once since I work here and that was because one of the robots had exploded. The building had to be evacuated. Busy day that was." Harry chuckled at Niall's little anecdote and listened to the announcement.

" _Harry Styles, please report to the nearest overseer. Harry Styles, please report to the nearest overseer_."

It took a second to sink in. Did they just call his name? "Did they just-" Harry started.

"Yeah mate, that was definitely your name they were calling. You better report to one of them before they become aggressive. Trust me." Niall nodded at him with a knowing look on his face and Harry sighed and got up with a frown on his face. While searching for an overseer, he got a bit worried. What if he had been doing his job incorrectly all this time? What if they were going to fire him? The extra money Harry earned had become essential to the Styleses.

"Styles, Harry?" he said nervously to one of the overseer robots. "They said I needed to report to an overseer?"

"Follow me", the robot said after he'd checked Harry's ID code.

"What's going on?"

"Follow me", the robot repeated mechanically. Realizing he wasn't going to get an answer out of it, he admitted defeat and followed the robot in silence. They went through a maze of corridors and doors until Harry had no idea where they were. After minutes of walking, the robot knocked on a door and let Harry in. The room was surprisingly light and nicely decorated, not at all what Harry had expected from an office. A man dressed in a suit that probably cost Harry five months of salary was looking out the window. For a very short second, Harry thought it was Louis. He did work here and his hair could've grown that long in the months he hadn't seen him.

But when he turned around, it was definitely not Louis. This man was undeniably beautiful - hazel doe eyes that would put an actual doe to shame, strong cheekbones and a peaceful aura around him. "Harry Styles, I presume?"

"That's me, sir." Harry stood next to the desk, feeling a little awkward.

"Please, have a seat." He must've sensed Harry's discomfort. "I'm Mr Malik, CEO of Tomlinson Robotics. You might wonder why you were called up here. I'm afraid it's bad news, Mr Styles."

"Am I fired?" Harry asked in a small voice.

Mr Malik let out a slightly humourless chuckle. "No, Mr Styles, you're not fired. Your sister, Gemma.... there's been an incident."

Harry felt his heart drop. "What is it? Is she okay? Is the baby okay? Where are they?" He only stopped firing questions when the man across from him held up a hand.

"She and her baby are both alive, Mr Styles. But they're not well. You've been given the rest of the day and the weekend off to support her. God knows she'll need it. There's a shuttle waiting for you outside to escort you back to your house. We, of course, look forward to seeing you back here in time for your shift on Monday. Wish her well for me, Mr Styles." Harry was still in a daze when he shook his hand and followed the robot outside. What had happened? Had someone attacked the hospital? Was Gemma going to be fine?

From the few times Harry had travelled by shuttle with Louis, he knew it was only going to take a few minutes before he got home. He even forgot to thank the chauffeur when they arrived at the Styles' home. As soon as they were on the ground, he jumped out and ran to the front door. Anne hugged him as soon as she saw him storming in.

"It's bad, darling, it's really bad", she whispered and that was all it took to set off the waterworks for Harry. If even his mum, who was always optimistic, said it was bad, was there even hope for Gemma?

"What happened?" he asked.

"She'll tell you, come on. She's resting on the bed. This entire thing has really tired her out", Anne said and she lead her youngest to the bedroom.

"Hey bean", Gemma said with a tired smile. She looked fine, physically.

"You look fine", Harry sniffed.

"Come, sit here, bean. I'm going to explain everything." Gemma patted the bed next to her. "It's safe, mum, the doctors said so."

Harry snuggled into his sister and put a hand on her stomach. "Is the baby okay?"

"Yeah bean, she is. This morning, when I just started my shift, a man came in. He was screaming that he was going to poison all the kids if he didn't get what he wanted. He was looking for special medicines to keep radiation poisoning under control. James also had them before he died, remember?" Harry nodded. James had been a friend of Gemma's and he'd gotten radiation poisoning at the factory a while ago. He had died weeks after. "So I asked why he needed them and he yelled he'd been poisoned by radiation at work. He was so close to the door of the kids ward, bean. I had to stop him. I took him to an empty room and told Jade to lock us both in."

"Were you poisoned as well, Gem?" Harry asked quietly.

"I was. I managed to calm him down but I felt the effects seeping in already. Jade brought down a batch of medicines and we both took them. The law enforcement robots escorted him out, no doubt directly to prison. Jade told me the kids were so scared, bean. They thought they were going to die." Gemma looked almost desperate, trying to explain why she'd endangered herself and her baby so badly.

"I know, Gem. I'm proud of you for doing the right thing, but for once I wish you hadn't." There was a long silence where they just enjoyed each other's company before Gemma broke the silence to address the elephant in the room.

"I'm going to die, bean. They're trying to find a way to keep me alive long enough for the baby to be born but they're not sure if it's possible. In fact, the longest I have is four weeks." She stroked her stomach absently. "It's not fair, bean. There's no treatment on Earth to cure radiation poisoning. They can only suppress the effects and the contagiousness until I die. I just wish I could save the little one." She started crying and Harry held her tighter. It was unfair. Gemma was young and she'd saved so many kids today. Why couldn't she save her own?

Dinner that night was a quiet event. They were all upset and not very hungry. "Is there nothing they can do?" Harry asked again. His throat was sore and his eyes hurt from crying. Never in his life did he expect to lose his sister so soon.

"Like I said, bean, there's no treatment on Earth to cure it." It was like a lightbulb went on in Harry's head.

"Not on Earth, there isn't." He shoved back his chair en jumped up. "I'm going for a walk. Don't expect me back before ten. I'll be fine." Not even taking a coat, he stormed out the door. The first thing he'd need to do is pick up all the money in Louis's vault. It had to be enough. He only needed two tickets to Elysium - to send his mum and sister up. He didn't need to come. Just Gemma and Anne was fine. Even if he did have enough money for a third ticket, he was going to spend it, not on a third ticket, but to make sure Anne and Gemma had everything they would need up there. Clothes and dummies for the baby, extra food for them both.... Yes, spending the money wouldn't be too difficult.

Getting the tickets, however, was an entirely different story. Harry had no idea where to get a legit one that would actually get Gemma on a shuttle to Elysium. There were so many fake companies selling 'tickets to Elysium' but they never even had shuttles. Maybe Niall would know someone. But first he'd need to get to Louis's old house and get the money from the vault. Getting it across town safely was something he'd worry about later. There would hopefully be a bag in the house somewhere as well.

As it turned out, the only bag left in the mansion was a princess backpack, formerly owned by Daisy but Harry doubted they'd come back for it. They would just buy her a new one on Elysium. If anyone asked, he could say he was bringing his daughter some stuff for her sleep over. It was quite the task to get all the money into the backpack but Harry succeeded eventually. There were easily thousands of dollars in there and the vault was empty. He had no idea how much money he'd need.

If only he hadn't needed it to get Gemma to Elysium. He could've bought his niece or nephew everything their tiny heart desired, given his mum and sister a better home, more food... But none of that mattered now. He closed the vault with a strange feeling. He hadn't expected to empty it out only months after Louis had left. This was Louis's last gift to him but he knew neither of them had thought he'd need it so soon.

With the backpack clutched tightly in his hand, he went on his way to Niall's place. It was all the way across town, near the factory, but Harry was too scared the law enforcement robots at the bus stop would confiscate the bag if they found out what was in it. They would, no doubt, ask where the money came from and where he was going with it. And he knew that on the streets, there were barely any robots patrolling around town. Walking was the safest choice.

But there were a lot of bad people on the streets. Well, not per say bad people, but people with bad intentions. They all needed money to feed their kids, or fix a leaking roof. And God knew Harry needed every last dollar for himself. He couldn't afford to lose any of the money.

Harry was about halfway to Niall's when a bunch of guys his age noticed him and his princess backpack. "Hey! Where are you going with that? What's in the backpack?" He knew it was mostly bark and no bite but he was still a bit scared. "Come on, pretty boy. Surely you can show us what's in the backpack!"

"Guys, leave him alone", a familiar female voice called from one of the houses on Harry's right. "Back off, Troy. He's done nothing wrong."

"Alright, alright. Calm your tits, Maggy, no need to bite my head off." The guy who was apparently named Troy held up his hands in defense and backed away. He seemed to be the leader of the group as the other blokes followed his example.

"Hey Harry, are you okay?" Maggy's hair, brighter red now the setting sun shone on it, came into view.

Harry let out a relieved sigh. "Yeah, I am now. Thanks." A little girl, looking like an exact copy of Maggy but with two braids in her red hair, clung to the young woman's leg. Harry kneeled down to her eye level. "And who is this pretty lady?"

"Sara", she said shyly, hiding partially behind Maggy's legs.

"Pleased to meet you, Sara", Harry said politely, holding out his hand for her to shake. She took it hesitantly and looked at the bag he was carrying with big eyes. "Do you like my bag?" She nodded, eyes sparkling. "Well, if your mummy has another bag for me, you can have it!"

"Sure, come on in", Maggy said in an understanding tone. She brought him inside and went looking for another bag. She had a cute little cottage, well kept and with a tv. "Here you go." She handed him a regular satchel and Harry started transferring the money from the backpack to the satchel. Maggy looked on with big eyes as thousands of dollars were unpacked and repacked. "Jesus, Harry. What d'you need all that for?" She looked around nervously, in case Troy and his friends might show up.

"Long story, but I need two tickets to Elysium."

"Elysium? Why would you ever want to set foot on that place?"

"I need to get my sister to a Med-Bay. She's pregnant and if she doesn't get to a Med-Bay within four weeks, she'll die of radiation poisoning and I can't let that happen." He was done transferring the money from one bag to another and he gave Daisy's princess backpack to Sara. He was sure Daisy would approve of its new owner.

"Harry, I don't think that is the solution", Maggy said softly. "Even if you get her on a shuttle to Elysium, there's no guarantee they even make it up there. They shoot them down when they detect the illegal shuttles on the radar."

"You'd do the same if it was Sara", Harry insisted. "I have to try."

Maggy looked at him in a strange way, almost as if he'd earned her full respect in the last few minutes. "You're right. I would do the same for Sara. Follow me, I know just the person you need to see right now."

"What about Sara?" Harry asked confused when he followed her out of the house.

"The old lady next door will look after her if something comes up, but she'll be fine. She's been mostly on her own during the day when I'm at work and there's never been any kind of trouble", Maggy answered. "She's a sweet girl, even in this tough world." For such a short girl, she sure knew how to walk fast. Harry had trouble keeping up.

"I didn't even know you had a daughter", he said honestly, slinging the satchel over his shoulder.

"That's because we don't talk about much more than the weather", Maggy chuckled. "But I owed you one so that's why I'm taking you to someone who can get your sister to Elysium."

"Owe me one? I can't really remember that."

"Months ago, when you let me back in line so I wouldn't miss the bus?" Maggy reminded him. Her hair changed colours slightly due to the setting sun and it was quite fascinating to look at, Harry noted.

"Oh, about that... I already forgot about it, honestly. You don't really owe me", he replied.

"Doesn't matter now. We're here", she said shortly. "When you go in, ask for Odin. Say Sol sent you. They'll know."

"Odin? Sol?"

"It's his code name and my old code name. Good luck, Harry. I hope your sister and her baby get well soon." She gave him a short, side hug and a smile and strode off again. He was all alone at a shady shack with a bag full of money. What had his life come to? Gemma, he reminded himself. This was for Gemma. Harry took a deep breath and stepped inside. He didn't get very far, as a scary looking girl with a lot of tattoos and a leather jacket aimed a machine gun at his head.

"Who are you and why are you here?" she demanded.

"I'm looking for Odin?" Harry was not prepared for the machine gun. Thanks for the warning, Maggy. Thanks a lot. His voice shook when he continued. "Sol sent me." His hands were shaking so badly he almost dropped the satchel. The girl looked at him with suspicious eyes.

"What's in the bag?"

"I'm looking for Odin. Sol sent me", Harry repeated. He was quite proud of himself for not breaking down at the sight of the machine gun although he would very much like to.

"Fine. Follow me." She gestured to a guy with some really great eyeliner to take over her place as guard. "You look too nice to come here often", she commented as Harry followed her through a bunch of dark corridors.

"Yeah, I prefer to stay away from this side of town." There was still a tremor in his voice and he was sure the girl could hear it. Instead, she laughed and nodded.

"Thought so." They entered a dark room with several brightly lit computer screens that seemed the track all air traffic and movement on Elysium. "Hey, Odin, this guy here wants to speak with you." Apparently, Odin was a small guy with glasses that kept sliding off the bridge of his nose so he had to keep pushing them up. Stereotype nerd guy, Harry thought. And not at all terrifying.

"Why did you even let him in, Freyja?"

"He said Sol sent him and he looked so scared it was almost cute," the girl, Freyja, chuckled. Freyja was probably a code name as well.

"Alright, you rascal. Get back to your post", Odin said and he shooed her off. "Why are you here, friend of Sol's?"

"I need two tickets to Elysium", Harry said. He hadn't expected the laughter that followed. It was a loud burst of joy accompanied with some thigh-clapping in amusement. It took Odin a few minutes to calm down and even then, he was still chuckling.

"Two tickets to Elysium, he says. Why do you think I'd give them to you, boy?"

"Because I can pay you", he said. "Name your price and I'll pay it." He prayed the tickets wouldn't be a million dollar each, because that was something he definitely _couldn't_ pay for.

"Are you sure about that?" Odin was scanning him for any signs of doubt - Harry recognized the look. Louis had looked at him with that same look in his eyes several times.

 _For Gemma._ "Yes", he answered. "I'm absolutely sure." Harry held up his satchel. "Name your price and I'll pay it", he repeated.

Odin looked at him for a bit longer before he spoke again. "50 000 dollars per ticket. Are you sure you can pay for that, my boy?" Harry let out a relieved breath. There was about 150 000 dollars in his satchel.

"I'm sure." He opened the satchel and started counting out the right amount of money.

"Thor, get the boy two tickets and a tattoo machine. One of the small ones we can miss, I suppose he needs to take it home." A buff guy in the corner of the dark room nodded and left the room. "I'm gonna be honest with you, boy. I didn't expect you to actually have the money."

Harry snorted. "Me neither." Thor returned with three pieces of paper and a small piece of machinery that looked a bit like a flat, square flashlight. Harry handed the money, his own and Louis's hard-earned money, to Odin and he received the items Thor was holding.

"The first two sheets of paper are your tickets. The date and time the shuttle is leaving are on it, right here. See?" Odin pointed at a date and time at the top of the paper. "If you or the person who's going to use these tickets is not there on time and misses the shuttle, the ticket automatically becomes invalid. I don't care if you choose to sell the ticket on for more money, after that day and time, the ticket's worthless. The place where it leaves is also on here. Before you get on the shuttle, you can _not_ forget to tattoo a number on your arm. That's what the last piece of paper is for. It's a manual how, where and what to put on your arm. The machine will do the actual tattooing but you need to program it the right way. It's pretty easy, have a read through the manual."

Harry scanned over the manual and noticed that everything was explained with pictures, so it was pretty obvious.

"Easy, right? Well, since you've got everything and I've got my money... be on your way, my boy. And remember - I don't exist. None of us exist. You'd do well to keep that in mind."

"I will, Odin. Thank you." Harry wasn't sure if he should bow or anything so he just stuffed his tickets and manual and tattoo machine in his satchel and secured it tightly.

"Follow me", Thor grunted and it was only three minutes later that Harry was stood outside, 100 000 dollars lighter but with tickets to Elysium. He sent a mental thank you to Maggy and Louis. Maggy because she showed him to someone who had the resources to get his sister to Elysium, Louis because a major part of the money he'd just paid was his. He owed them both, big time. Maybe he'd drop off a thousand dollars at Maggy's place later. But first, he had to get home. Gemma was going to live, and so was her baby. They just had to get her to a Med-Bay now. And that should be easy, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Odin - The All Father, God of war  
> Freyja - Goddess of love  
> Thor - God of thunder  
> Sol - Goddess of the sun
> 
> This might become a 4 part story, depends on how much I can write on the next part and I might just split that in two. We'll see. 
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	3. After (& epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry finds a solution for Gemma's illness.

It was late when Harry got home. Gemma and Anne were still up, snuggled together on the sofa and watching something on their tiny telly. They made an adorable picture, Harry thought.

"Harry", Gemma said surprised when she saw him. "You're back. We weren't expecting you back tonight." Her and Anne got up slightly and Gemma, always sharp, spotted the satchel hanging off her brother's shoulder. "Bean, what's in the satchel?"

Harry beckoned them over to the table and when they were standing around him, he emptied the bag on the table. Stacks of dollars fell out, along with the tattoo gun, its manual and the two tickets. Gemma gasped loudly. "Is this...." Anne said in awe, holding up a stack of about 5000 dollars.

"It gets better", Harry said with a slight smile and he plucked out the tickets from underneath all the money. "I got two tickets to Elysium, so mum, you can take Gemma to a Med-Bay and she can get better."

"Where did all this money come from, bean?" Gemma asked, eyes wide as she took in the sight of their kitchen table, covered in money. "I sure hope you didn't rob a bank."

"Did you even hear me?" Harry asked. "You can get better, Gem. I got tickets for Elysium. You're going to get better."

"Darling, are these tickets real, actual tickets to Elysium?" Anne whispered, holding one of the tickets like it was something invaluable, made of gold, which.... yeah, it probably was invaluable.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, mum. Gem can get better. These are legit tickets, mum."

"Bean, how did you get the money? And the tickets? Please tell me you didn't do anything illegal to make sure I could go up there", Gemma pleaded, taking him by the arm and dragging him over to the couch.

"I earned it fair and square, Gem, I promise. Remember that key Louis gave me on my nineteenth birthday? Yeah, it's the key to a vault and he'd been saving up for us before he left to Elysium. I put in my own savings too. You have to go, Gem, you need to get to a Med-Bay."

"Bean, there's so many dangers between having tickets and actually getting to Elysium. There's the citizen numbers, the shuttles, Elysium's defense system.... We might never make it", Gemma said softly.

"But you have to try", Harry insisted. "Both of you have to try."

"Harry, I can't go with Gemma."

"Why can't you?"

"I can't protect her, baby. I think you should go. You bought the tickets and your boyfriend is up there", Anne said.

Harry let out a mirthless chuckle. "Mum, this isn't about Louis. He made his choice. You need to go with Gem, alright? I need the two of you to be safe and healthy."

"And I need my kids to be safe and healthy. You can both live long, happy lives on Elysium, Harry, and I need you both to just do that. Gemma needs you, H. The baby needs you." It was a bit unfair, bringing the baby into it, but Harry knew his mum was right. He could protect them both, his sister and her baby, and make sure they were safe and healthy.

"What about you?" he protested nevertheless.

"I'll be fine, love. You two would've moved out eventually. Only now you're going a bit further away than I would've thought." Anne dragged both her children into a big group hug. Harry was squished between them, like it always had been. He just had to see it as moving out, instead of moving to space and everything would be fine.

Time flew by and soon, it was time to get on the shuttle to Elysium. Gemma only had two more weeks to live, according to the doctors, so it was about time to get her to a Med-Bay and make sure she and the baby didn't die. Harry took his time getting up that morning, savouring every moment he could spent with his mum and his sister. Breakfast was a silent event, no-one speaking unless it was to pass along the milk.

After breakfast, it was time to pack the few belongings they had, among which were mostly clothes and an old polaroid picture of the happy Styles family, years ago. It was hard, saying goodbye to Anne. Sure, they would've moved out eventually but not to a space station.

"Harry, take good care of your sister for me, alright? And my grandchild, of course."

"I will, Mum. I'll miss you."

Gemma was quiet, tears rolling down her face. She felt guilty about leaving her mother but she knew she had to do this, not even for herself, but for the baby. The poor thing hadn't asked for any of this and it wasn't even born yet. The doctors had assured her that if she got to a Med-Bay in time (which they thought impossible), the baby would have no lasting damage.

There were no promises made to visit. They all knew it was practically impossible to visit Earth if they ever reached Elysium in the first place. The other way around was even more impossible with barely any money. Harry and Gemma tattooed the numbers on their arms, double-checked if they had the tickets and they were off. Anne wouldn't come to the shuttle with them. The Styles siblings took the bus to the shuttles and sat together in silence.

"Bean, I don't think I ever properly thanked you for doing this for me", Gemma said quietly after a long silence.

"You don't have to", Harry replied. He took her hand in his and looked at her sincerely. "It was mostly for selfish reasons. I didn't want to lose my sister and my unborn niece or nephew."

"Is that what you call selfish?" Gemma smiled. "Saving my life because you don't want to lose me?"

Harry chuckled. "Well, if you put it that way..." He squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "It's gonna be fine, Gem, trust me."

"I really hope so, bean."

Once arrived at the shuttle (there was more than one shuttle), loading their bags and showing their tickets was easy and soon enough, they were finally buckled into their seats. Gemma chatted with the lady next to her a bit and then it was silent once again. Everyone was nervously awaiting the departure of the shuttle and praying they would make it to Elysium. Rumour has it that about half the shuttles were shot out of the sky before they reached Elysium and, sitting in said shuttle, those rumours suddenly seemed scarier than ever. Harry freed a hand and took Gemma's in his. No words were needed - they both knew the risks before they got on the shuttle. The floor rumbled underneath their feet and through the tiny window in front of him, Harry saw the Earth getting further and further away from them. Elysium, here we come. He squeezed Gemma's hand throughout the entire journey and held his breath when they passed Elysium's borders but nothing happened. No rockets came to blow them out of the sky, no blaring sirens and no screaming and yelling. The big wheel of Elysium came closer and closer until the shuttle shook a little bit and that's how Harry knew they must've landed.

"Everyone out right now! Run for a house, get the kids and elderly to the Med-Bays first!" their captain yelled over the intercom. "Don't let them catch you or you will be sent back to Earth!"

Harry unbuckled his seatbelt first and then Gemma's, threw their bags over his shoulder, grabbed his sister's hand and pulled them both out of the shuttle. "Let's go, Gem, come on!"

They ran as fast as they could in the chaos that ensued when the shuttle doors opened. There were about 4 more shuttles, all with people pouring out and Harry knew the Elysium police were on their way to arrest every illegal person on Elysium and send them right back to Earth. Harry and Gemma ran and ran until they could no longer hear the chaos behind them. Only then did they slow down and start looking for unlocked doors in houses to gain access to a Med-Bay.

"Harry, come on, here's a door unlocked", Gemma yelled and she waved Harry over. The door was indeed unlocked (which seemed odd, as the alarms had been going off for what seemed like hours to the Styles siblings. Harry carefully entered the house, pulling Gemma along behind him, protected behind his body. She had one hand on her belly (she was just starting to show, barely three months along but Harry had seen the instinct to protect her belly kick in when she was just a month along) and one hand in Harry's.

"Who's there?" a female voice yelled from another room.

Harry and Gemma froze in their steps. "We mean no harm!" Harry said. "My sister is pregnant and she's very sick. Please, just let us use your Med-Bay and I promise we'll be gone for good."

There was a short silence. "Move into the living room. It's the second door on your left. Hands up and no funny business or I swear I will shoot to kill."

"Alright, we're coming in," Harry replied and he motioned Gemma to follow his lead. He slowly opened the door and put his hands up when he stuck his head around the door. "See? We mean no harm."

The person he saw is not the person he expected to see. "Jay?"

"Harry? Gemma? Oh dear", Jay sighed and she put her gun down on the table next to her. "What on Earth are you two doing here?"

"Harry!" Daisy exclaimed and she got up from where she'd been hiding behind the couch. Just seconds later, Phoebe joined her.

"Hello darlings." Harry smiled widely and he gave them both a hug. Not much later, Daisy and Phoebe had updated Harry on all the adventures they'd had on Elysium. Lottie eyed him with a curious look and Fizzy and Jay were adoring Gemma's tiny bump and speaking to it in baby talk.

Somewhere in the house, a door slammed shut and someone yelled "Mum, is everything okay?"

"We're fine, love. You won't believe who are here!" Jay called back.

"Mum, are you crazy, leaving the door open like that? There are illegal refugees on Elysium, they could've killed you!" Louis burst into the room. Harry thought he would've fainted, or something equally stupid when he finally saw him again, but nothing like that happened. Their eyes connected and Louis went pale. "Harry? Gemma?"

"Yeah, it's us. Harry and I are part of the illegal refugees", Gemma replied dryly. Harry didn't know what to say. _Nice to see you_ just didn't quite cut it. _How've you been_ just sounded like you were talking to some old relative you'd only ever met twice in your life. _I missed you_ was a bit desperate.

"Why are you here?" Louis asked, directing his question at Gemma, not looking Harry in the eye. His sisters almost fell over each other to answer. All kinds of explanations were yelled over each other and Louis could only make out half of it. "One at the time, please!"

Lottie ended up explaining the situation. "Gemma is pregnant and has radiation poisoning so she and Harry came here to find a Med-Bay and make her better." Louis stared at her blankly.

"It's true", Harry finally said when the silence had become unbearable. "I bought two tickets for a shuttle to Elysium."

"And of all the houses here on Elysium, the two of you just happened to find our place?" Louis said, eyes squinted slightly like he wasn't buying it.

"What can I say, I guess it's just faith", Harry replied and he saw several emotions pass on Louis' face before he settled on amused.

"You always did have a thing for faith. Come on, Gems, let's get you to that Med-Bay."

Harry stayed with Gemma throughout the healing procedure (which was surprisingly easy) and after the treatment, Louis scanned her with a device that detected radiation to make sure she was fine. Nothing happened, no beeping on the device, no alarm bells, absolutely nothing. Harry let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and squeezed his sister's hand.

"You're okay, Gem. You and the baby are fine." His eyes watered and he saw Louis smiling at them from the other side of the room. "Thank you, Louis. For helping us."

"No problem at all." He left the two of them to it and Gemma just hugged Harry tightly.

"Thank you, bean. I don't know what I would've done without you." They sat together in silence for a while until Gemma sighed in a long-suffering manner.

 "Now, go fix things with your man. He still loves you, you know." Sometimes Harry really hated his sister. "Go on!"

** Epilogue **

The authorities on Elysium never once came looking for Harry and Gemma and they blended in like they belonged on Elysium. Gemma's little girl was born healthy, a tiny bundle of happiness by the name of Anne Sophia Styles. Despite the fact that Harry and Gemma themselves couldn't go back to Earth (the risk was too big), Louis occasionally brought Anne photos of her children and granddaughter and brought letters from Anne back with him for Harry and Gemma. They made it work.

Louis and Harry had started dating once again and were as happy as ever. Together with Maggy, Niall and Liam, they'd made plans to smuggle the designs of a Med-Bay to Earth to ensure everyone on Earth could get the same medical help Gemma had gotten. No one had to die anymore from things that were 100% curable.

To stop the overpopulation on Earth, construction for several more Elysiums had begun and every country had introduced a one-child policy to stop the overpopulation from getting even worse.

People on Elysium were baffled when their plans for new genetically modified grain to grow even faster and yield more harvest were stolen and even more so when weeks later, the first fields of that new grain were planted. But no one ever looked at Harry twice when he brought them coffee and walked out of the conference room with more blueprints under his jacket. Nor did anyone doubt Louis, who looked downright menacing in his black suit and with his business face on,  when he told them to hand over more plans of genetically modified food to solve the food shortages on Earth.

They were fine. More than fine, really. They were great.

Sometimes when he was alone with baby Anne, Harry stopped to think about what would've happened if they hadn't made it to Elysium. But those somber thoughts were always cut short when his niece smiled at him or chewed on his fingers. They did make it and everything was alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! The end! Let me know what you think :)


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